Title

Author

Degree Name

MA (Master of Arts)

Program

History

Date of Award

12-2007

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Stephen G Fritz

Committee Members

William Douglas Burgess Jr., Colin F. Baxter

Abstract

The postwar children coming of age in the late 1960s in West Germany mounted a widesweeping socio-political protest against what they saw as the strangling silence of their parents, the Nazi generation. These protesters, referred to as the 68ers for their pivotal year, continued their struggle in following decades, incorporating an important and controversial exhibition, and finally culminating in their own administration thirty years from their defining moment. Using such diverse kinds of information as parliamentary debates, interviews, and contemporary criticism, this thesis explores the impact of the 68ers' initial protest and the influence they ultimately had on their nation and society. The 68ers changed the face of German society by forcing a dialogue with the past that made a full exploration of the Nazi generation possible in Germany. They also incorporated gender politics into their protest and forced a social revolution that allowed a woman to be elected Chancellor.

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Recommended Citation

Morton, Gracie M., "The Long March of the German 68ers: Their Protest, Their Exhibition, and Their Administration." (2007). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2141. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2141